Why is Sam Smith’s ‘Not Here to Make Friends’ music video causing controversy?

Sam Smith is evidently ‘not here to make friends’ as their latest music video sparks a row for its ‘hyper-sexualised’ dancing and ‘raunchy’ themes.

The video, ironically called ‘I’m Not Here to Make Friends’ was released on Saturday [28 January] and has generated more than 1.8 million views, with Sam Smith seen scantily clad among dancers in corsets, nipple tassels and suspenders, as they performed provocatively in a castle.

Sam, 30, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, explained to Graham Norton that the set was in one of Henry VIII’s old castles but the filming process took place while the castle remained open to the public.

They said: "Nothing seedy went on guys. It wasn’t weird… They had Christmas parties [going on] so they were working around us. They had no idea what was going on in the rooms."

While there were other scenes in the video, with Sam Smith entering via helicopter in a bright pink gown and swinging on a chandelier, viewers were critical of the overwhelming explicit content such as the backing dancers dressed in leather pants or Sam having water thrown at him.

The sexual connotations have led to a debate as to whether there should be an age restriction applied to the music video, with some highlighting that people as young as five could watch the ‘normalised pornography’.

One viewer tweeted: "I can’t believe kids look up to Sam Smith. This s*** should be banned on Youtube."

While another agreed: "Not f***ing needed, it’s blatant tacky sexualised bulls***. As a mum of teenagers, I’m sick of seeing people use s*** like this to sell their music."

The backlash led to Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid discussing Sam Smith’s music video on Good Morning Britain with journalist Alex Phillips who commented that pornographic media in general is becoming an ‘unhealthy norm’.

Although the track from Sam Smith’s new album Gloria took main stage in the topic of discussion, focus quickly shifted to Madeley as he mis-gendered the Lay Me Down singer and had to promptly apologise.

In response to all the controversy, Sam is seemingly unbothered as they declared their favourite headline following the video was 'Sam Smith Horrifies OAPs'.

Clearly, Sam is sticking to their guns by ‘not making any friends’.